Apparatus for transferring freight containers



June 24, 1924. 1,499,095

A. F. CALLISON APPARATUS FORTRANSFERRING FREIGHT C(ITAINERS Filed Sept. 25, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Mei W7:

June 24 1924.

A. F. CALLISON APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING FREIGHT CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 25 i922 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fizz/WW: flame/764145004 June 24 1924. 1.499,095

A. F. CALLISON APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING FREIGHT CONTAINERS Filed Sept. 25 19 3 sheets -sheet 5 W I n F as T u I J! I'LL! L Arm-5K" CALL/60h.

' @Wmw 1%? Patented June 24, 11924 stares means I E E'FiCE ABNER. F. CALLISON, OF BUFFALO CREEK, COLORADO.

APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING FREIGHT CONTAINERS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABNER F. CALLIsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo Creek, Jefferson County, Colorado, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Apparatus for Transferring Freight Containers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application.

My invention relates to the transfer of merchandise from one carrier to another such as disclosed in my copending application filed June 6, 1922, Serial No. 566,335, and in which the merchandise is shipped in containers which may be transferred from railway car to truck or carriage, or the like, without necessitating the unpacking of the merchandise.

The object of my present invention is to provide an improved transfer apparatus which will be located at a terminal point and on which the containers may be transferred from one carrier to another.

In the above mentioned application, I utilized ramp tracks paralleling the railroad tracks and containers provided with downwardly facing railsadapted to be engaged by a series of rollers upon the transfer truck.

Another object of my invention is to eliminate this container rail and transfer truck rollers and move the container from the car onto the transfer apparatus, and from the latter onto another carrier, such as a truck upon its own wheels.

An additional object of my invention is to provide an improved mechanism for pushing the container on or off the transfer carriage.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate two embodiments of my invention:-

Figure 1 is a plan or top view of a railroad terminus, the transfer apparatus located thereat. and a truck to which one of the merchandise containers is being transferred.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the truck of the transfer apparatus looking towards the end of the railroad track.

Figure 3 is an elevation of invention applied to an apparatus for transferring containers of the class described from aplatform to a truck or other carrier.

Figure 4- is a top view of the elements shown in Figure 3.

Figure 5 is aside elevation of my invention adapted to a different arrangement of tracks, etc.

Figure 6 is a plan of a typical installation.

Referring to the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, the railroad track is indicated at 1; a truck roadway extending transversely of the railroad track is shown at 2, and is inclined upwardly at 3 a short distance from the track. An overhead track having parallel rails 4 and 5 extends transversely of the railroad track and parallel with the truck roadway, one rail f being lo cated over track 1 some distance from the end thereof and rail 5 being located beyond the truck roadway.

Mounted on this overhead track is a truck 6 adapted to travel along rails l and 5 and carrying rails 7 extending transversely of rails 4L and 5 and upon which is mounted a carriage Sadapted to travel lengthwise of rails 7. Obviously carriage 8 may be moved over track 1 to a truck 9 positioned on roadway 2 adjacent to the end of the railroad track. Depending from the wheel portion of carriage 8 are frame members 10 which at their lower ends support a track consisting of parallel rails 11 which extend parallel with rails '7 upon which the carriage runs and parallel with the railroad track 1. The rails 11 on the carriage are flat and are located at a height corresponding to the height of .the platform of a warehouse or a flatcar adapted to carry merchandise containers 12, of the type illustrated in my 00-.

pending application and well known in the art.

These containers have wheels 13 upon which they may be moved over suitable supporting surfaces to readily transfer their contents. At one side of carriage 8 and near the lower end of members 10 is a shelf 14 upon which a carriage operating mechanism ismounted which includes a motor 15 and suitable driving pulleys and belts. Mounted on shelf 14 at opposite ends of the carriage are rollers 16 whose axes are p r ll l and i ermediate t se rq a pulley 17 driven by the operating mechanism previously referred to. An endless element 18 extends around rollers 16 and pulley 17 and may be driven by the latter in either direction across carriage 8. This element is provided with a projecting member 19, best shown in Figure 4, which is adapted to engage a container 12 mounted upon the carrier and, when element 18 is driven, to move the container across the carriage onto a car or platform or truck located at'the end of the carriage.

In the operation of transferring a con tainer from a car 20 to the motor truck 9, the transfer truck 6' is moved to the position shown and the carriage 8 is moved up to the end of the car so that the container 12 may be wheeled from the car onto the carriage. The carriage is 'then moved: to the position shown over the motor truck anda container engaging element 21, as the truck is driven forward, moves the container and its carriage, and truck 6, to the left and as a result of such movement, the bed of the truck will rise and lift the container 12 off the carriage tracks 11. The truck is then halted for a moment while the carriage is driven out from under the container whereupon the motor truck may proceed upon its way with the container loaded thereon.

If the merchandise container is being loaded onto the railroad car the operations are reversed, the motor truck halted on the higher portion of th roadway until the tracks of carriage 8' may be moved underthe wheels 13 of the container and as the truck.- proceeds down the driveway, the container will be raised from the bed of the truck and may be moved across the space between the truck and the car and moved across the carrier by the pusher element 19.

In the installation shown in Figures 3 and 4, a carriage 23 travels on rails 24 and mounts rails 25 which extend transversely of rails 24. One or more ramp tracks 31 extend transversely of rails 24 at the height of rails 25', and, as the carriage is moved along rails 24, the carriage rails 25 may be aligned with track 31 or witha' car adapted to support containers such as 22.

lVith this arrangement, a truck 26, bearing a container, may drive down an inclined roadway 32- until the container wheels ngage rails 31 and the container is liftedfrom the truckwhich may continue on its way'a'cross rails 24. After the containeris transferred to the carriage 23, the-carriage may be shifted with the container to discharge the latter to' a car ona track parallel with track The: above described operationmay be reversed, in: which case the container isbroughtto track 31 by the carriage and then is picked up a truck 25 backed in either 9 direction road-way- 32 In the construction of Figures 3 and 4, the endless element 27 extends between rollers 28 and is driven by a roller 29 similarly to element 18 of Figures 1 and 2. The same motor 30 which drives clement 2? may also be used to drive the carriage along track 24 by means of a belt 33, suitable clutches being provided for utilizing the motor as desired.

In Figures 5 and the overhead truck 34 travels, as does truck 8 of Figures 1 and 2, but is not provided with mechanism corresponding to carriage 8. Truck 34 moves across'ramp tracks 35 to transfer containers 36 from these tracks to a warehouse 37 or a dock 38 or to transfer carriers to these tracks to be loaded onto trucks such indi- .ated at Rails 40 for the wheeled containers may be laid upon the warehouse floor or dock platform to facilitate the handling of the containers. Here the movements of the container carrying device 1s at right angles to the travel of the trucks instead of parallel therewith, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. The warehouse and dock platforms may be depressed along th path of the container carrier to afford passage for workmen.

The constructions of Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are adapted for use at a terminal having storage tracks or warehouses where merchandise containers are used or at terminals where large shipments are broken up for distribution.

Other arrangements of tracks and roadways and various modifications in the details of construction of my apparatus will suggest themselves to those familiar with the conditions to be met, and may be made without departing from th spirit of my invention as expressed in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A loading and unloading apparatus comprising an overhead track, a carriage mounted to travel thereon, a track carried by said carriage and spaced below said firstment-ioned track, a pusher element mounted on said carriage, and mechanism for moving saidelement across the carriage, said element being adapted to engage container to move the same across said carriage.

2. A loading and unloading apparatus comprising an overhead track, a carriage mounted to travel thereon, a track carried by said carriage spaced below and extending transversely of said first-mentioned track, a pusher element mounted on said carriage, and mechanism for moving said element across the carriage parallel with the tracks on the carriage, said element being adapted to engage a container to move,

the same along said carriage tracks.

3. A transfer apparatus comprising an overhead track, a carriage mounted to travel thereon, a track carried by said carriage and spaced below said first-mentioned track, and

means for moving a merchandise container alon said lower track and beneath said over ead track.

4. In combination, an overhead track, a carriage mounted to travel thereon, a supporting surface supported by said carriage and spaced below the same, a wheeled merchandise container adapted to ride on said surface or on a platform or other plane sur face and beneath said overhead track, and means on said carriage for moving said container across said carriage.

5. In combination, a platform, an over head track, a wheeled carriage mounted to travel on said track and having depending side portions which support tracks on a level with said platform, a container having supporting wheels located beneath it, and means movable across the side portions of the carriage and adapted to engage said container to push the latter across the carriage so as to move the container onto and off of the platform.

6. In a transfer apparatus of the class described, a traveling carriage, a track on said carriage and extending transversely of the carriage, rollers spaced from each other along one side of said track, one of said rollers being positioned beyond the end of said carriage track, a flexible element mounted on said rollers, and a projecting member mounted on said element and adapted to be moved therewith and to engage a merchandise container on said carriage and move the container at right angles to the path of travel of said carriage.

7. In a freight transfer apparatus, an overhead terminal track, a wheeled carriage suspended therefrom, a track on said carriage extending transversely of said terminal track, rollers spaced from each other along one side of said carriage, an endless flexible element mounted on said rollers parallel with said carriage track, driving mechanism for said rollers, a container adapted to move on said carriage track, and means on said element for engaging said container.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature this 9th day of September, 1922.

ABNER F. GALLISON. 

